Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Sam rubbed her eyes as she got out of bed the next morning, the hang over not terrible but wasn't necessarily pain free either. She expected Bryce to be with her, getting up with a huff. Picasso wasn't here either, making her walk down the hallway. "Bryce?"
Nothing.
She walked down the stairs, finding the house quiet. "Did he leave me?"
She reached the bottom step. "Bryce?"
"He'll be right back." a new voice rung as she looked over quickly, seeing a man in the kitchen. "You are?"
Sam took a second to realize that she'd seen him before, on photos from Bryce's phone. His dad, Eli's dad. Her eyes widened, her unkept curls and smeared makeup, half asleep state coming into realized. Sam opened her mouth hesitantly. "I'm Sam."
"Well, Sam-" he held out a glass of orange juice. "-looks like you need a morning kick start."
"It's literally not funny at all." Sam looked at Bryce in disbelief as he continued to laugh. "How many family members do I have to meet looking like a mess?"
"Leave a memorable impression." he shrugged with a small grin her way. "Besides, they are all so embarrassing, that was nothing."
"Still." she pointed out, walking toward the row of boats near the dock. "Which one are we going on?"
"Which one do you wanna go on?" he shrugged his shoulders.
Sam gapped. "They're all your grandparents?"
"All four of em." he nodded his head. "One for us, one of Demetri and Eli, one for Karter and her moms, then my grandparents, dad, and step mom."
"How does your family have so much money?" Sam looked at the four, trying to decide which one seemed best.
"Own a lot of bakerys." he shrugged in response. "Up to you, lady."
"Let's do that one." she pointed toward the one closes toward the end. "How do you think Picasso will do on the water?"
"I think he'll be okay." Bryce shrugged his shoulders, leading the two toward the boat. "I mean, he was okay in the car."
Sam waited for Bryce to get in the boat to hand him Picasso, letting him down as he curled up on the seat. Bryce smiled. "See? He's the coolest dog around."
"Oh, for sure." Sam agreed, taking Bryce's hand to step onto the boat. "So, at this wine making place, are we not suppose to taste it?"
"Well, we get like-" he held up his index and thumb to show a small space. "-that much to taste it. But, we get an entire bottle to take home for 'our parents' so it'll be fine."
"I wonder what my dad is doing." Sam said honestly as she sat down on the seat. "He was so mad when I left."
"He acts like i'm gonna, like, purposely put you in danger or something. I mean, i've known him almost a year and I haven't done anything once." Bryce said as he started the boat up, pulling two sets of sunglasses out, handing her one. "And, we bonded, why does he all of a sudden not like me?"
